Mystery: The Undead Don't Die from Linking the Fire

Chapter 91 I Have a Golden Dream

Yu Jin gazed at the distant horizon, gradually calming his thoughts.

Let's review it again.

The slaves were plundered from the Eastern Bairan of the Southern Continent, and their journey involved passing through four nodes:

Aurora Club → Painting World → Mad Captain → Capin → Royal Family of Rune.

This process can be simplified to Aurora Club → Painting World → Royal Family of Ruen.

The two intermediate steps are completely meaningless.

However, Kapin is a puppet supported by the Rune royal family, and by the same token, it is possible that the Mad Captain is also a member of the Aurora Society.

Their purpose is to act as a 'filter' and 'spokesperson' for both sides.

"No, it shouldn't be."

After thinking for a long time, Yu Jin gently shook his head, overturning his own guess.

Although the Mad Captain is "mad", he is clearly not a true madman like those in the Aurora Society; at most, he is just a madman who doesn't know what's good for him.

He even prepared to make peace with me when he took action earlier, but the madman from the Aurora Society would never make peace.

Moreover, the other party was clearly not following the path of the "Secret Prayer Person".

In other words.

The Mad Captain is either a member of the royal family or belongs to a third-party force.

Ember, however, leans more towards the second possibility.

Because if he is a member of the royal family, then the entire delivery process becomes—

Aurora View → Painting World → Royal Family → Royal Family → Royal Family.

If that's the case, then the royal family is simply out of their minds.

Furthermore, the Hanged Man stated that the Mad Captain was an underling of Tracy, the "Sick Girl".

Ember had previously guessed that she might be an "assassin".

Those who achieve extraordinary status through the "Assassin" path have always come from the Witch Cult.

So.

The entire process should be: Aurora Society → Painting World → Witch Cult → Capin → Royal Family of Rune.

"The Aurora Society, the Witch Church, and the Royal Family of Rune."

"Tsk, wouldn't you say they're a den of snakes and rats?"

Yu Jin clicked his tongue. The fact that the Rune royal family could associate with two cult organizations meant they weren't exactly good people either.

He could roughly guess why the three forces needed to go through such a complicated handover process.

Because they don't trust each other.

The royal family does not trust the Aurora Society, so they do not want to trade directly with them.

So the Witch Cult was put in charge of the middleman, but since they didn't trust the Witch Cult either, Kapin was put in charge of the middleman.

of course.

It is also possible that the royal family believed from the beginning that they were making a deal with the Witch Cult, but the Witch Cult secretly chose to 'outsource' to the Aurora Society.

In other words.

Despite the Mad Captain's unwavering stance, Ember wanted to continue the investigation.

The most recent breakthrough was the Witch Church.

And there is only one known witch at sea—

A girl with a disease.

"Perhaps Mr. Hanged Man can provide a clue."

As Yu Jin pondered something, he suddenly caught a glimpse of what appeared to be a golden 'sun' on the distant horizon.

and.

This "little sun" is still growing larger and getting closer at an extremely fast speed.

Finally, the entire outline of the "Little Sun" came into Ember's view.

That wasn't the sun, but a sailboat gleaming with golden light under the sunlight.

Yu Jin's expression shifted slightly.

Although the Hanged Man promised to come find him.

But finding a ship on the vast ocean is not much different from finding a needle in a haystack.

Now that a ship has finally arrived, he certainly doesn't want to let it go easily.

just.

He was just about to set off to catch up with the other person before they left.

But in the end, it was discovered that the other party seemed to have changed direction and was moving towards it.

He was certain.

The other party must have already noticed the unusual nature of the ship.

But instead of leaving, they took the initiative to approach.

Was it out of curiosity?

Or do you have enough confidence in your own abilities?

The golden sailing ship, gleaming with a light that seemed to blind people, approached rapidly, then slowed down just before reaching it, eventually running parallel to the "One-Eyed Skull".

The two sides were so close that Ember could see the sailors above, the wary look on their faces, and the weapons they gripped tightly, gleaming with a cold light.

It seems they are preparing for a boarding operation.

And in fact, that's exactly what they did.

Almost immediately.

A warrior clad in full plate armor led a group of sailors onto the deck, looking at Ember with wary expressions.

"This time, we must leave as many survivors as possible."

Ember gripped the Black Knight Greatsword tightly, silently reminding himself.

But after thinking about it, I felt that the greatsword killed people too quickly, and once it started killing, it was hard to stop.

So he quietly switched to the Irithyll Straight Sword.

but.

They ultimately did not fight.

Because Ember paused for a moment when he saw the sun symbol on the chest of the opponent's armor.

So he didn't do anything.

Because a beautiful lady was standing quietly on the side of the ship.

So they didn't take any action.

The lady had a beautiful face shaped like an egg, a high nose, thin lips, and a pair of light blue eyes that looked like clear spring water.

Her long brown hair was parted in the middle and tied in a simple yet elegant knot at the back of her head, then flowed smoothly down.

She wasn't wearing a hat, but a beige coat that was fitted at the waist, with large white lace floral decorations woven into the neckline that cascaded down, giving her an intellectual beauty.

She wore dark trousers and leather boots, which added a touch of chic and sassiness to her intellectual beauty.

"Captain, be careful!"

A sailor standing next to the woman warned her warily.

Not only him, but several sailors were also quietly approaching the beautiful lady, forming a semi-fan shape in front of her.

"captain?"

Yu Jin was slightly surprised.

Because compared to the stereotypical image of a pirate captain, she was more like a wealthy young lady on a sea picnic.

not to mention.

Standing among these menacing pirates, she looked more like an innocent girl who had been abducted and trafficked here.

"Want a ride?"

The beautiful woman on the side of the ship suddenly spoke, her voice clear and cool yet exceptionally pleasant.

But for some reason, she was speaking Old Fusak.

If Ember hadn't been wearing the "Eye of Wisdom," he probably wouldn't have understood.

"captain!"

The sailor standing nearby changed his expression slightly and hurriedly tried to dissuade him.

But the woman simply looked at him quietly with her light blue eyes.

The sailor hesitated for a long time, gritted his teeth, took two steps back, and said nothing more.

"Want to come up?"

The woman looked at Ember again and asked softly.

"it is good."

Looking at the woman's genuine expression, Yu Jin thought for a moment and then nodded gently.

Inviting a stranger who had slaughtered a ship full of people onto the ship right after meeting him—anyone with eyes could see something was amiss.

but.

The embers didn't care.

If the other party genuinely wants to give him a ride, he wouldn't mind taking a free trip.

But if the other party wants to give him a ride, he wouldn't mind giving them a ride too.

Thinking about it.

With a light leap, Yu Jin landed steadily on the deck.

Despite wearing heavy armor, he made no sound as he jumped.

It didn't "smash" the deck when it landed, but rather moved as lightly as a cat.

This scene caused a glint of surprise to flash in the beautiful woman's eyes.

"Edwina Edwards".

The woman suddenly extended her hand to Yu Jin and introduced herself.

"..."

Ember paused for a moment, then extended his hand covered by the gauntlet and whispered, "Ash Black."

Ash Black?

Upon hearing this name, Edwina suddenly frowned for some reason.

The sailors nearby noticed the captain's change in expression and quietly tightened their grip on their weapons.

But Edwina's frown lasted only a moment; she seemed to have thought of something else.

"Mr. Ash."

Edwina asked softly, "May I ask why you're here?"

"Because of an accident."

Yu Jin thought for a moment and then answered.

"Accident?"

Edwina seemed quite interested in his experience and pressed for details, asking, "What kind of accident?"

Ember did not answer, but simply looked at her quietly.

"I'm sorry, that was rude of me. You don't have to answer."

Edwina immediately realized her mistake and apologized for her behavior.

"Where are we?"

Yu Jin pondered for a moment, then asked.

"Sunia Sea".

Edwina was not surprised by Ember's question and replied, "If you want to know the exact location, this place is southeast of Toscart Island, 1,500 nautical miles from Toscart Island and about 3,500 nautical miles from Bayam."

Yu Jin put on a thoughtful expression, but in reality, he didn't recognize either of the two places at all.

After thinking for a long time, Yu Jin politely asked, "Could you prepare a room for me? I'd like to rest for a while."

"certainly."

Edwina nodded slightly. "Blue, take Ash to arrange a room."

"Yes, Captain."

First Mate Blue Walls, with his short, curly gray hair, adjusted his monocle and spoke with a slightly respectful tone.

"Please follow me, Mr. Ash."

Blue Walls walked up to the man in the black knight armor, gestured for him to proceed, and then led him directly to the cabin.

"captain."

The two had just left when the second mate, Orpheus, who had just boarded another ship, jumped back.

He took off his helmet, revealing a rugged, sculpted face.

He then strode quickly to Edwina's side and whispered, "I recognize this ship. It's the One-Eyed Skull. It's the flagship of 'Mad Captain,' one of the Disease Girl's subordinates. He only owns this one ship."

"and,"

Orpheus took a deep breath, his eyes grave. "I've checked. There's no one alive on board. That guy was definitely a tough nut to crack! We shouldn't have let him on."

"The Mad Captain?"

Edwina frowned slightly, then suddenly asked, "That human trafficker?"

"Yes."

Orpheus nodded and said in a deep voice, "Although I also look down on this kind of trash, he is still a Sequence 6 Extraordinary, and he has two Sequence 7s under his command. Even for me, it would be difficult to take them down without paying a price."

"But all the evidence on the ship suggests that this was more like a premeditated massacre!"

"That guy is too dangerous!"

"Captain, should we...?"

Upon hearing this, the third mate, Jodson, also became worried and made a throat-slitting gesture.

Edwina looked at Jodson.

Compared to the others, Jodson, dressed in a white shirt, black vest, and patterned bow tie, looked more like a clerk than a pirate.

But his words were more direct than anyone else's.

Jodson, however, was not at all ashamed of this; on the contrary, he proudly puffed out his chest.

Second Officer Orvers glanced at Jodson, nicknamed "The Bowtie," though he had always disliked the Third Officer.

But I have to admit, he has a point.

It's always better to strike first against someone of unknown origin who is clearly extremely vicious.

Although they weren't exactly vicious pirates, they were still pirates after all, and not exactly good people.

Good people cannot survive at sea.

"No."

Edwina shook her head gently and said softly, "Have you ever thought about this question?"

"What?"

Second Officer Orvers and Third Officer Jodson, nicknamed "Flower Bowtie," were both taken aback.

"If he killed everyone on this ship, how did he get on board?"

Edwina gazed at the dried bloodstains on the One-Eyed Skull ship opposite her and said softly.

"this……"

Second Officer Orvers was slightly taken aback, and also found it a bit strange.

Yes.

How did he get on the ship?

Wearing such a suit of armor, he would be the most stylish person in the crowd, truly standing out from the crowd.

If he and the "Mad Captain" didn't get along, there's no way he could have boarded the ship so openly.

not to mention.

The nearest island is at least a day's voyage from here, and judging from the time those people died, it should have been no more than ten hours ago.

In other words, the other party took action at sea, far from any island or land.

But this makes another problem even more acute—

How exactly did he get on the ship?

"Could it be internal strife?"

Second Mate Orvers thought for a moment, then asked somewhat uncertainly.

"captain."

"Flower Bowtie" leaned forward again, urging, "If that's the case, then we absolutely can't let him get on the ship. Let's strike first and take him out as soon as possible!"

"I'm thinking."

A bright light flashed in Edwina's beautiful eyes. "Is it possible that he was picked up by the Mad Captain?"

The second mate looked surprised and wanted to ask for more details.

But just then, First Officer Blue Walls returned.

"How is it?"

"Adeline asked."

"That's normal."

Blue Walls replied, "He remained calm throughout the journey. I arranged for two alert sailors to stand guard outside his door so we could detect any unusual activity immediately."

Which room did you put him in?

Edwina nodded slightly to show her approval of the first mate's actions, and then asked a question.

"Jodson's."

Blue Walls glanced at the man in the bow tie and casually remarked, "He's a guest, and a powerful one at that. We can't exactly put him on the lower deck, crammed in with the other sailors, can we?"

"Um?!"

Yodson, who had been watching the spectacle from the sidelines, suddenly widened his eyes and angrily exclaimed, "You bastard! Why didn't you give him your room?!"

"I am the first mate."

Blue Walls glanced at the "flower bow tie" with disdain and said leisurely.

"Damn it!"

"Flower Bowtie" was furious. "That's my room! No way, I have to take it back!"

Edwina glanced at her two subordinates, as if she could sense their restlessness, and said calmly, "Don't do anything unnecessary, and don't clash with him. Yodson, lend him your room for now; it won't be long."

"Yes, Captain."

First mate Blue and Second mate Orvers nodded without hesitation.

After a long silence, he nodded gently.

Jodson, wearing a bow tie, was being stared at by Edwina. Although he was annoyed, he could only nod in agreement.

Edwina didn't say anything more; she still had basic trust in her subordinates.

If they can't even handle this small matter, they don't deserve to stay on the ship.

The woman turned and walked toward the captain's cabin, closing the door behind her to block the others' view.

Edwina walked to the table, took out a letter and a pen, and after thinking for a long time, carefully wrote:

"Dear Teacher Klara..."

P.S.: I got writer's block and lost track of time while writing. Sorry!

(End of this chapter)